Obsidian artefacts from Papua New Guinea: major new publication

A major new reference work to assist archaeologists interpret use-wear marks on obsidian artefacts has been published by the Australian Museum.

The importance of microscopic examination and experimental replication techniques are being increasingly recognised in the field of functional analysis. The integrated use-wear/residue analytical techniques presented here focus particularly on understanding the processes of wear formation and the extent to which wear patterns on both ancient obsidian artefacts and experimental tools can be identified by microscopic techniques.

This major work, Experimental and archaeological studies of use-wear and residues on obsidian artefacts from Papua New Guinea (Kononenko, N., 04/02/2011) reports on research intended as a reference tool for students and specialists, particularly those analysing artefacts made from obsidian.